On 3 February, 2020 President Berdymukahmmedov held a meeting with the heads of the provinces, the state information agency TDH reports.
The President’s son Serdar Berdymukhammedov, the head of Akhal velayat, gave a progress report on the construction of the new city, the capital of the region.
Later the same day via the video conference the head of state contacted Chary Gylydzhov, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for trade, who oversees Akhal velayat and Chairperson of the Central Bank Merdan Annadurdyev and ordered allocating almost $1,5 billion to Turkmenistan’s Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs for the construction of a new city in the province.
The amount of $1,465,747,129,60 allocated from the state budget (one billion four hundred sixty five million seven hundred forty seven thousand one hundred and twenty nine dollars and 60 cents) will be spent to purchase construction materials and equipment from overseas.
The khyakim of Akhal, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairperson of the Central Bank have been appointed responsible officials supervising the execution of the resolution on the allocation of funds.
According to the news outlet “Turkmenistan: golden age”, the members of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneur welcomed the news on $1,5 billion which had been allocated to their organization.
Total expenditures of the state budget for the year 2020 amount to 84,3 billion manats ($24 billion at the official rate or $4,4 billion at the “black market” rate).
On 7 September, 2019 the groundbreaking ceremony on the occasion of the launch of the construction works was held in Geoktepe etrap.
The first stage of the construction works are scheduled to be completed in 2019-2021 whereas the second phase will be finalized in 2020-2022.
The President announced his intention to build the new city in October 2018.
The head of state emphasized that “this massive project will require huge investments but the state is economically sustainable enough to implement the most audacious and large-scale projects for the sake of well-being of the country’s residents”.